itsy bitsy spider
by Grintgirl12
Summary: Jeremy has always been fascinated with spider webs.


_A/N: Long time no fic, huh? Inspiration is a fickle bitch my friends. Rated for, I think like two swear words and implied sex scenes._

_Fixed the grammatical mistakes._

For as long as Jeremy Gilbert can remember, he has always been afraid of spiders. There was just something about them that made his skin crawl and left an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of his stomach. When he was really young, and he'd come across one in his house, he would make his father kill it for him. It wasn't until he reached about 10-years-old that he actually learned to kill them himself. After all, his father wouldn't always be around to kill the spider for him.

Coincidentally, the first time he killed a spider was also the first time he saw a real spider's web. After he had disposed of the unnatural critter, he noticed the web hanging just a few feet over his head.

It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, the threads so thin you lost sight of them if you turned your head too much. The way the sunlight caught the strands captivated him, and left him wondering how such a gruesome creature could create something so wonderful. He spent hours that day just staring at it. He even tried to sketch a few drawings of it, but nothing he did could capture the essence of the real thing.

It wasn't until he saw the tiny lady bug fly into the middle of the web and become so hopelessly tangled that it could never escape did he realize the true intention of it. Horrified, Jeremy swatted at the web, crushing the bug in this haste.

His mother didn't understand why he came home with tears in his eyes, and he refused to talk to anyone for the rest of the day, even when Elena offered to play Pokemon with him. For the first time in his life, Jeremy had realized that things weren't always as good as they seemed. From that day forward, he vowed to destroy every spider web he came in contact with. But that didn't stop him from staring in awe at them right before he did.

* * *

When Katherine Pierce first came into town and shattered whatever tiny bit of tranquility Mystical Falls had left, Jeremy felt real fear for the first time in six years. That numbing, spine-chilling, paralyzing fear that makes you want to run home and crawl into bed with your parents.

But he didn't have parents anymore. He was the man of the house now. He wasn't afraid of anything. He had been killing spiders for Elena and Jenna since his father couldn't, and he hardly ever felt that momentary flicker of fear anymore. At least, not like he used to.

So at the first symptom of fear around Katherine, Jeremy decided to do whatever was necessary in order to overcome it. Even if that meant facing Katherine one-on-one. Which was why he was so determined to join forces with the Salvatore brothers. Of course, he couldn't tell them the real reason he was so desperate to join. Instead, he played the I'm-still-bitter-about-the-death-of-my-girlfriend-card (which he was quickly finding out was running low in its usability). No one questioned it too much. They put up a bit of a fight, but once he had Damon on his side, he knew the rest was just for show.

He thought he was prepared of it. He thought he could handle it. He was going to face his fear, and be stronger because of it.

He thought wrong.

The first time he came face-to-face with Katherine was the single most terrifying moment of his life. She was every fear he had ever had come to life. She was a spider in human form; graceful, powerful, and most of all, deadly. She could also spin magnificent webs of lies and deceit to ensnare her pray.

Jeremy was always a sucker for spider webs.

* * *

It's really no surprise how quickly he falls into her trap. He can't help it. Katherine holds a morbid fascination for him. She represents everything he isn't supposed to want.

He promises himself he'll never get too close to her. He'll stay far enough away that the web will never be able to capture him.

Jeremy is a victim to his fears, and that's what shames him the most. So what if chooses to let himself forget what an utter failure he is by spending time with Katherine? It's easier with her. (And he really knows he should date a human at least once in his life, if only to try it out. Hell, they don't even have to be human, so long as they're not vampire).

He knows how dangerous it is, being near her. But he can't stop it. He no longer has his father to come along and kill the spiders for him, and he's long forgotten how to do it himself.

* * *

It always starts the same.

Katherine comes to him. Always. He's not allowed to seek her out (and even if he wanted to, he would never be able to find her). She always just appears there, hovering over his shoulder. He drops everything for her. Even if it's homework he should have gotten done weeks ago, or a drawing he finally has inspiration for. She is his whole world now.

* * *

She tells him she loves his hair while he kisses diagonal lines across her naked body. It's astounding how similar Elena and Katherine are, even down to that one little mole on their hip that Jeremy remembers from distant beach days with his sister. Somewhere in the back of his foggy mind he recognizes how wrong it is that he's fucking someone who looks exactly like his sister, but he can't muster up enough energy to care. All he knows is that at this very moment, he is content.

Katherine laughs when he runs his tongue over the mole, and _there it is, _the real difference between. Because Elena has never laughed like that in her life. Her laugh is warm and full of lightness. It sounds like music.

Katherine's laugh lacks emotion. It's bitter and hard, like the air in December. That laugh is what keeps Jeremy sane, what reminds him that this is not his sister.

"Come here," She commends, cold and harsh. She smirks at him, a predator getting ready for the kill, and Jeremy is so enchanted by that sinful smirk that he does what she asks without hesitation.

That's when she sinks her fangs into his neck, drawing out his blood hungrily. She moans into his neck, and dammit, if that isn't the sexiest noise he's ever heard.

It's always moments like these, when he's so blissfully oblivious to fact that he's screwed up beyond any hope of help, that he realizes he's the lady bug. And that the spider will eventually kill him, and if it doesn't, some kid trying to destroy what the spider has made will.


End file.
